The Barbie movies and its franchise have been a big part of many teenagers at Bryant, including myself. The adventures of Barbie have always been a favorite of mine, and I can assume it can be said for a few others that go to Bryant. Rewatching the movies gave me a huge wave of nostalgia, and with it I decided to rate my personal top 5.

#1 – Barbie in a Mermaid Tale (2010): 5/10

Not my most favorite on the list of movies, Barbie in a Mermaid Tale is about Barbie’s character, Merliah, going on a harrowing journey throughout the sea to save the kingdom her birth mother was the ruler of until Barbie’s aunt took over and imprisoned Barbie’s mother. With themes of self acceptance, Barbie deals with having to come to terms with being a mermaid and human whilst saving the kingdom. 

    Although I enjoyed the movie, the entire time I was waiting for it to end. It was a boring storyline, and the main villain didn’t have much about her to make the story compelling. With a blotchy animation, especially with the inclusion of fish with human eyes, it can be slightly difficult to watch compared to cartoons of our generation. Even with these faults, the movie wasn’t awful, and I quite enjoyed the little quips between the friends Barbie made, and the outfit in which she looked gothic in.

#2 – Barbie in the 12 Dancing Princesses (2006): 6/10

    Barbie in the 12 Dancing Princesses was one of my favorite Barbie movies when I was little, and I would watch it on VHS with my grandmother when I went to her house. The story is of Barbie and her 11 other sisters fighting against their Fathers cousin as she tries to control their every move. While the girls love dancing, the Dutchess hates it, restricting them from doing what they love.

    The movie was a little boring, but nonetheless entertaining, especially with the little scenes of Barbie’s pet cat and the Duchess’s pet monkey fighting. With an evil cousin, a romance between Barbie and the Cobbler, and a magical place for the girls to dance, the movie has some interesting aspects to it. Besides that, the animation is good for its time, and it isn’t that bad seeing it now. 

#3 – Barbie in the 3 musketeers (2009): 9/10

    A story of forming friendships, girl power, and saving princesses, Barbie in the 3 musketeers was an amazing installment to the Barbie movies. The outfits of this movie were amazing and it was great to see so many good side characters when they aren’t that frequent in a Barbie movie. In this movie, Barbie is a girl from the country, and due to her father’s legacy wants to be a musketeer and help the royal family. Sadly, the men of the castle doubt her and her abilities. Forming a great friendship with 3 girls she meets in the city, they all go for greatness by posing as maids in the castle.

    I greatly enjoyed this movie, with its strong message of girl power, amazing side characters, an underground lair, and an amazing pet sidekick (that is thankfully in almost every Barbie movie), there isn’t much to dislike about the movie. Anytime I watch it I actually enjoy it and unlike the other two I have rated I didn’t find myself bored while watching this movie.

#4 – Barbie in Swan Lake (2003): 8/10

    The oldest of the movies in the list, Barbie in Swan Lake is a story Barbie tells her younger siblings about in which her character follows a pegasus to a magical land where the elves are cursed to turn into animals only during the day time. Barbie is turned into a swan and has to find a way to break the curse and save the elves of the forest. 

    The movie isn’t awful, and obviously as one of the older movies on the list the animation is a little off. Besides that, the movie is incredibly fun to watch and the character design is incredible. The villains look very stereotypical, but that is common in barbie movies. The movie has a theme of dancing, but unlike the 12 dancing princesses this movie has real ‘violence’, or the use of magic and fighting so it isn’t as boring.

#5 – Barbie and the Magic Pegasus (2005): 8/10

Being my favorite Barbie movie when I was a kid, Barbie and the Magic Pegasus really holds up to standard. With a polar bear as a sidekick and a pegasus as a sister, Barbie tries to save the day and turn her sister back into a human after being cursed by a dark wizard. The design of the movie is honestly beautiful and the journey Barbie goes on is super entertaining.

Barbie has a skill for ice skating, and it’s entertaining to see those skills put to the test. The animation is a little off, but it honestly doesn’t make the movie unwatchable. Rewatching all of these I thought I might have preferred this movie over all of the others, but it just didn’t hold up to The 3 Musketeers.

Overall, Barbie movies have had a huge impact on my childhood and how I act today. Getting to rewatch these movies gave me a huge wave of nostalgia, and I’m glad I got to experience these movies all over again.